US Glass - April 2008 - USGlass Magazine

“The windows were probably the
biggest reason [we expanded],” explains
owner Trent Hellenbrand. “With the existing
showroom we had we couldn’t
showcase all of our windows properly.”
The showroom now features a wide
selection of the products the company
installs—or carries for other contractors.
Anchor Ventana in Round Rock,
Texas, has had a showroom in each of
its two locations for seven years, and is
now in the process of revamping the
2,500- and 3,000-square-foot spaces.
Owner Felix Munson says that the
showroom is an important resource for
customers following a lead from a website
or advertisement. “It’s an educational
opportunity for the customer or
the end-user because they may go to a
website and see something but they
want to come in and really get the feel
for how the product feels in their hand.”
Having a wide variety of products on
display “does draw in business,” says
Chris Mammen, president of Mammen
Glass & Mirror in Irving, Texas. “If
somebody wants a shower door and
they can look at it at my place or not
look at it somewhere else, I’m probably
going to win that customer.”
However, Mammen points out that
the benefits can go further than making
an on-the-spot sale.
“It also gives us a chance to build our
image by designing the showroom the
way that we want to, to present the image
that we want our customers to see. And
I think it also gives you credibility as an
established brick-and-mortar business.
There are a lot of websites with different
shower doors, but you don’t know if
that’s a guy operating out of his garage
with a pickup truck or if it’s an established
business, ” says Mammen.
“IF SOMEBODY WANTS A SHOWER DOOR AND THEY CAN
LOOK AT IT AT MY PLACE OR NOT LOOK AT IT SOMEWHERE
ELSE, I’M PROBABLY GOING TO WIN THAT CUSTOMER.”
—Chris Mammen, Mammen Glass & Mirror
“We do have some contractors who
come in,” Munson says, “but generally
when somebody has done an architectural
rendering, and has specified for a
commercial project what they want,
you’ll get an interior designer who
comes in that’s working on the project.”
As Cook mentioned, many consumers
come in at the behest of contractors.
“Sometimes homebuilders will send
their clients here to pick out their glass,
just like they would send them to a
plumbing showroom or a lighting
showroom,” Mammen says.
But if you’re selling to contractors,
does that take away from your own installation
business?
No way, says Cook. “We do the glass
installation. The contractors that we
work with don’t want anything to do
with that, they don’t have the skills to
do that. So they might finish off the
bathroom, the plumbing and the tile
work, and they leave the glass enclosure
up the homeowner. Or they
might help facilitate it, and serve as
the general contractor, but we do the
actual installation.”
In some cases these consumers who
bring in walk-in business—or contractors
who visit to get ideas—may
lead to new installation business for the
showroom owner.
“We hope to be a resource so that we
are requested to do the work or ultimately
get to do the work,” Munson says.
“That’s the purpose,” Cook says. “We
want to get a bigger market share of the
glass shower enclosures,” she offers as
one example. “We also want to get a bigger
share of wallet from those consumers
because they might need a …
product that we have.”
TIPS TO A SUCCESSFUL SHOWROOM
Despite the aforementioned benefits
to having a showroom, the area will
only be as effective if the display can
pique the interest of visitors.
Of course, in creating this three-dimensional
catalog, it’s important to have
a big selection to show off to a visitor.
“Obviously show a lot of product,”
Buddy Moses says, “but make it roomy
enough that people can maneuver and
move around.”
continued on page 38
A showroom can draw in designers looking for ideas of products to use—that
these glass shops can then help install.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
A showroom is just one more tool in
the diversification bag. “We can do just
about anything anybody wants,” says
Edward Nethercutt, owner of Woodbridge
Glass Co. Inc., a retailer and glazing
contractor in Woodbridge, Va. “It
keeps you diversified, and I think that’s
been a big help to us.”
But for companies with a commercial
focus, is a showroom really relevant?
Some showroom owners say this
show-off space can bring in designers
looking for products ideas.
www.usglassmag.com April 2008 | USGlass, Metal & Glazing 37
Photo courtesy of Ajax Glass.